Communication Major

Get skills that will give you an advantage in virtually any career.

With the Communication Major, you will get a strong understanding of the principles and practices of effective communication to help you build and maintain relationships with clients, colleagues, citizens, and community members. You will study mass communication, media writing, social media marketing, media criticism, video production, advertising and public relations, photography, and graphic design. Through lively, interactive classroom exchanges and hands-on learning opportunities, you will assess the role of communication in society and develop your own communication skills. You will also have the option to focus your learning by doing a concentration in advertising and public relations or digital media production.

What You Will Do:

Develop a solid understanding of the principles and practices of effective communication
Apply critical and analytical thinking to explore issues across the discipline of communication
Learn to share information through a variety of methods, technology, platforms, and channels
Participate in hands on learning across classes in video production, photography, and social media
Discover the relevance of communication with the emergence of digital media
Develop skills and a professional portfolio of creative works produced in the major

Concentrations in Communication

Explore the different concentration opportunities Worcester State has to offer!

Explore sample courses in this program.

CM-100 Intro to Mass Communication

An integrated examination of the history, theory, structure, process, and effects of each of the mass media.

3 credits

CM-103 Survey of Radio and Television

Perspectives on the development of radio and television technologies, programming, regulation, and economic support, and their impact.

3 credits

CM-105 Media Writing

An introduction to various types of mass media writing, from print and broadcast to public relations, advertising, and online media.

3 credits

CM-106 Communications and the Internet

Focuses on the social and educational implications of the internet and the application of its various search tools as a means of communication.

3 credits

CM-107 Journalism and Democracy

This course introduces students to the history of American journalism and the role of journalism in democratic and non-democratic societies.

3 credits

CM-108 Introduction to Animation

This hands-on introductory-level course covers the fundamentals of aesthetics of computer animation. Through a series of shorts projects, students learn the principles of expression through movement in time, sequential composition, editing, and integration of images, sequences, and sound.

3 credits

CM-110 Public Speaking

Essentials of speech production and speech writing for large and small groups. Classroom practice in delivering various types of speeches.

3 credits

CM-150 Photography I

Covers the basic theory and practice of 35 millimeter black-and-white photography, including camera handling, film processing, light meters, printing, and picture content.

3 credits

CM-160 Introduction to Digital Imaging

This course introduces students to the procedures, techniques, and concepts of basic digital imaging. In the course, students learn to use the computer as a tool for visual image making.

3 credits

CM-180 Introduction to Advertising

An overview of advertising including the historical and current roles of advertising in our economy, basic advertising concepts and methods, and social and cultural effects.

3 credits

CM-204 Analysis of News

This course introduces students to the conventions and ethical issues and the economic, political, and socio-cultural forces that affect mainstream and alternative journalism today.

3 credits

CM-205 Reporting for Media

This course refines interviewing skills and enables students to develop evidence from documentary sources to create stories for converging media.

3 credits

CM-206 Digital Storytelling

Use of personal narrative to construct stories using audio, still and video images, and music tracks in digital format.

3 credits

CM-213 Gender and the Media

This course explores how difference is socially constructed along gender lines and explores the intersections of gender, identity, power, and media representation.

3 credits

CM-240 Principles of Public Relations Practices

An overview of public relations principles in business, politics, and society.

3 credits

CM-241 Understanding Movies

An introduction to the aesthetics and critical theories of film as an artistic medium of communication through critical observation of classic and contemporary movies.

3 credits

CM-242 Understanding Video Games

An introduction to the interdisciplinary study of video games as texts through an examination of their cultural, educational, and social functions in contemporary settings.

3 credits

CM-244 Graphic Design

Through hands-on projects, students learn formal elements of design, principles of typography, idea generation, and issues of responsible design as applied to print media.

3 credits

CM-250 Music of the Cinema: Spectacle, Splendor, and Spielberg

An introduction to the role, impact, and importance of music in motion pictures from silent movies through contemporary film.

3 credits

CM-259 Television Production

Basics of studio production including visualization and sequencing of short scripts, sound, graphics, lighting, and technical direction.

3 credits

CM-272 News Reporting and Writing

Includes fundamentals of news judgement, events coverage, sourcing, interviewing, writing on deadline, fact checking, and basic editing.

3 credits

CM-340 Public Relations Strategy

Case study approach to public relations practices, problems, opportunities, and application to practical situations.

3 credits

CM-350 Intercultural Communication

Introductory communication theory and practice across cultural groups defined by race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, nationality, politics, and economics.

3 credits

CM-359 Documentary Production

This course engages students in a semester-long production of documentary and introduces key concepts of documentary theory.

3 credits

CM-363 Visual Media Literacy

An introduction to principles of visual media literacy and their application in media production and perception.

3 credits

CM-366 Scriptwriting

Creating scripted material for the electronic media. All types, styles, and formats are covered.

3 credits

CM-384 Media Criticism

Evaluation and analysis of film, television, theatre, and radio performances, development of intelligent, ethical standards of judgment.

3 credits

CM-416 Media Law and Ethics

An overview of the US legal and justice systems and an examination of ethical issues in mass media.

3 credits

Meet the Communications Faculty

Julie Frechette

Julie Frechette, Ph.D., is Professor of Communication at Worcester State University and an award-winning scholar specializing in media studies and feminist studies. Her book, Media Education for a Digital Generation, provides a [...]

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Suzanne Gainer

Professor of Communication

Professor Suzanne Gainer is an award winning digital media artist, photographer, and graphic designer. She holds an MFA in Photography from Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI and a BA in Communication, with a concentration in Media [...]

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Eric Nichols

Associate Professor, Chair

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Young man with dark, unevenly cut hair wearing a blue zip-up sports jacket and smiling against a plain light background, embodying the approachable confidence of a Communication Major.

As an aspiring sports broadcaster, I love the TV Production class–I get to speak in front of a camera and also work behind the cameras as well. The professor has worked professionally in TV, so he offers tips which I know will help me become the best sports broadcaster I can be.

— Michael (Mikie) Letendre, Communication

Portrait of Communication student Kassidy Robertson

Worcester State's Communication department prepares you with indispensable skills, both professionally and personally, as the professors are just as passionate about their work as we are.

— Kassidy Robertson, Communication